ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 13,671 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC significantly increased its Paychex stake in the first quarter, buying 13,671 additional shares to bring its total holding to 17,351 shares valued at about $1.6 million.
• Paychex beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.32 EPS on $1.61 billion in revenue, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.19 per share, implying a 4.4% annualized yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the stock currently carries an average “Hold” rating, even as some firms raised estimates or issued bullish calls, while one report suggested the shares may be below fair value after index changes.

ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 371.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,351 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 13,671 shares during the period. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $1,598,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Stance Capital LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 957.1% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Paychex in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Paychex from $100.00 to $98.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Paychex to $52.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Argus raised Paychex to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $105.80.

Key Paychex News

Here are the key news stories impacting Paychex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research lifted multiple earnings estimates for Paychex (PAYX), including FY2027 and FY2029, signaling improved profit expectations and a potentially supportive outlook for the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Paychex was highlighted among the Nasdaq 100’s highest-yielding stocks, which may attract income-focused investors looking for defensive dividend names.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no reported short interest, so there is no clear evidence of a meaningful bearish positioning shift in the shares.
• Negative Sentiment: A separate article said Paychex (PAYX) could be as much as 38% below fair value after removal from the Russell Growth Index, suggesting the recent move may be partly tied to index-related repricing and raising valuation concerns. Article Title

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX traded up $1.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $107.54. The company had a trading volume of 2,179,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,609,491. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.45 and a 52-week high of $148.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.99 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $98.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.48.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. Paychex's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $1.19 per share. This is a boost from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total value of $383,862.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 67,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,618,513. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas "Tom" Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company's core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers' compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.

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